Industry - Airline latest news

The airline industry will lose $5.2 billion this year based on an average annual crude oil price of $113 per barrel ($140 for jet fuel), IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said yesterday from Montreal.

Compagnia Aerea Italiana, a group of 16 Italian investors, submitted a "preliminary offer" to buy a large part of Alitalia, the carrier confirmed yesterday.

Bombardier's CRJ1000 prototype took to the skies yesterday from Montreal Mirabel for a 3 hr. 25 min. first flight, reaching a maximum speed of 260 kt. and an altitude of 30,000 ft.

A summer survey of 113 airline executives conducted by US consulting firm IdeaWorks revealed that "more and more airlines are turning to a la carte pricing to provide an ancillary revenue boost" and that "more and more airlines appear willing to act independently on the issue of a la carte fees."

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority wants Qantas to implement a range of improvements to the way it manages and delivers aircraft maintenance following a special review carried out last month.

Hainan Airlines reported a net profit of CNY311 million ($45.5 million) in the first half, up 63.9% over the CNY189.7 million earned in the year-ago semester, thanks largely to the appreciating yuan.

Spanair continued to defend its decision not to move passengers from the MD-82 that crashed last month prior to a second takeoff attempt as reports surfaced that the pilot asked for two busses to be used to transfer passengers to another aircraft following the aborted first takeoff.

WAYNE, PA (MARKET WIRE) Kenexa(R) (NASDAQ: KNXA), a leading provider of recruitment and retention solutions, today released the results from its latest WorkTrends survey. This study, part of the Kenexa WorkTrends(TM) database, a comprehensive normative database of employee survey results, queried participants on their work-related travel habits, job satisfaction, engagement and satisfaction with their current company. The purpose of this study was to determine if employees whose travel requires them to spend at least one night away from home, are more or less engaged in their work and if they are more or less likely

British Airways has opened a dedicated check-in area for its business class passengers at Heathrow Airport.The area is located at zone H at the far end of Terminal 5 next to the airline's first-class check-in area.While customers are still advised to use online check-in services, British Airways said the dedicated area could prove useful for people with hold luggage or passengers who want to speak to customer service desks.Paul Nickson, Terminal 5's customer experience manager, said that the terminal has now hosted more than seven million customers.He added: "We're looking forward to moving a further 30 long-haul flights into the terminal on September 17th."This increased capacity means that even more business class customers are flying through Terminal 5 so it's a good time to introduce the dedicated zone."Terminal 5 is currently undergoing a number of developments - T-Mobile announced this week that it is turning the facility into a Wi-Fi hotspot providing internet access to people w

Southwest Airlines Co. recorded a drop in passenger traffic during the month of August. (LUV)